Great Pocono Weight Race winners could be all in the family

Sunday

Feb 7, 2010 at 12:01 AM

If the Great Pocono Weight Race competition comes down to mom Nancy Padilla and daughter Nicole Padilla with the title on the line, the two already are deviously planning on how they can eliminate the other. "I'm pushing her out of the way," Nicole Padilla said.

MICHAEL SADOWSKI

If the Great Pocono Weight Race competition comes down to mom Nancy Padilla and daughter Nicole Padilla with the title on the line, the two already are deviously planning on how they can eliminate the other.

"I'm pushing her out of the way," Nicole Padilla said.

"I'll be adding steroids to her dinner," Nancy Padilla said. "That should do it."

They're kidding.

Probably.

But whether they'll have to come to weight-loss blows before the end of the competition on March 25, the two already say they have more energy, feel better about themselves and are looking forward not only to competing but to continuing the lifestyle changes they've started.

Since the contest officially started three weeks ago, the two have combined to lose more than 30 pounds and are leaning on each other for support.

"We started it together, we're going to finish it together," Nicole said. "We do some classes together. We're in working out every day together. This is something very important to both of us."

Not just to lose weight, but to help save their lives. Nancy, 50, has had both of her knees replaced since the family moved to Penn Estates in Stroud Township from New Jersey in 2004. Her right knee has had to be replaced twice in that time.

Having extra weight to carry has made it extremely difficult for her to get around, as she normally uses a cane — and even that hasn't stopped her from falling more than 10 times, she said. She's torn ligaments in her wrist trying to break those falls.

"I feel like I'm 50 years old and I'm falling apart," Nancy said.

To make matters worse, she's dealing with an ulcer diagnosed in April 2009 that has precluded her from taking ibuprofen.

That was never a problem — until the competition came around and she took some ibuprofen to help with the sore muscles from her workouts without remembering how bad it could be for her.

"Oops," she said, laughing. "So now I'm tolerating the pain. It means some rough nights trying to sleep when I'm completely sore."

Sleep deprivation is nothing new for Nicole, 28. In 2004, she was diagnosed with a mild form of lupus, a disease that attacks the body with an overactive immune system that results in healthy body tissue being destroyed.

It typically causes chronic soreness and pain that can last weeks. For Nicole, that means trouble getting comfortable in bed, countless restless nights and uncomfortable mornings.

"It's so bad that it takes me 20 minutes or a half-hour sometimes just to get out of bed," Nicole said. "Not because I'm lazy, or tired. Just because I can't physically get out of bed."

Being sore all the time doesn't lend well to coordinating an exercise schedule and the weight gain started. She noticed the weight gain when she moved from a retail job — where she was on her feet all day — to a sit-down office position. She lost her job in 2008, but still hasn't been able to shake the extra pounds.

She fully realized her weight gain on a recent vacation while getting ready for a horseback ride.

"I couldn't get up (on the horse)," Nicole said. "I just couldn't swing my leg over. It took a couple people to give me a boost up. I think that was when it really hit me."

But hey, this is still a competition, with a number of valuable prizes on the line, including a year's membership at Elevations Health Club and a year's worth of free treatment from Gorman Chiropractic in East Stroudsburg.